HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. - The William and Mary men's basketball team suffered a 70-59 setback at Hofstra on Saturday afternoon. The Pride jumped out to a 16-2 advantage, and despite the Tribe closing to within four points on a number of occasions in the second half, HU pulled out the victory. W&M fell to 7-8 on the year and 1-3 in CAA action, while Hofstra improved to 5-11 overall and 2-1 in league play.

Junior guard Brandon Britt led the Tribe with 21 points on 8-of-16 shooting to go along with four assists compared to one turnover and two steals. Sophomore guard Marcus Thornton added 17 points, including a 9-of-11 effort from the free throw line, and a team-high five assists and three steals. Junior forward Kyle Gaillard rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points.

The Pride came roaring out of the gate, hitting seven of its first 11 shots in jumping out to a double-digit advantage. Hofstra scored the opening nine points of the game and the lead was 16-2 following a Stephen Nwaukoni free throw at the 11:43 mark. Nwaukoni led the way on the run for the Pride, scoring seven points.

W&M closed the half strong, drawing to within 10 points at the intermission. With Hofstra leading 25-12 following a Jordan Allen free throw, Thornton drove the lane and found Britt for a 3-pointer from the right corner to cut the gap to 10 points. A pair of Thornton free throws with 34 seconds remaining in the half cut the deficit to 25-17, but Taran Buie beat the halftime buzzer with a jumper in the lane to send the Pride to a 27-17 lead at the intermission.

The Tribe started the second half with a flurry as lay-ups from Britt and Gaillard drew W&M to within six, 27-21, less than two minutes into the second half. After a David Imes 3-pointer pushed the HU lead back to nine, W&M scored five straight points to cut the gap to four points for the first time in the second half. A two-handed jam from Gaillard came before a Thornton steal and dish to freshman Terry Tarpey on the break to cut Hofstra's lead to 32-28 with 15:49 remaining.

Buie and Britt traded individual five-point runs as the Tribe deficit remained four at 37-33 with 12:58 left. The Pride answered with back-to-back 3-pointers from Buie and Imes to push its advantage back to double digits at 43-33 less than two minutes later.

The Green and Gold clawed its way back into the contest as Thornton's first 3-pointer at the 8:31 mark cut the Hofstra advantage to 48-44. The Pride lead was still just four after a Britt jumper answered a Daquan Brown lay-up, before HU scored seven straight points to push the margin back to double-digits. Moussa Kone sparked the run with five points, including the capping conventional 3-point play with 4:24 remaining that put the home side on top 55-44. The Tribe could get no closer than seven points the rest of the way.

W&M finished the game shooting just 39.4 percent (19-of-55) from the floor and finished 17-of-26 (65.4 percent) from the free throw line. The Green and Gold dished out 14 assists on its 19 made field goals and tallied 10 steals. Junior Tim Rusthoven led the Tribe attack on the glass with eight rebounds.

Hofstra shot 47.9 percent (23-of-48) from the field and was 19-of-28 (67.9 percent) from the free throw line. Buie led the Pride with 24 points, while Stevie Mejia added 14 points and nine assists. Imes chipped in 10 points and shared team high rebounding honors at eight with Kone, who added eight points as well.

The Tribe will close out its three-game road trip when it travels to Georgia State on Wednesday, Jan. 16. The game carries a 7 p.m. tip-off from the GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta. Tribe fans can catch the action over the Tribe Radio Network with Jay Colley and Charlie Woollum on the call. The Tide 92.3 FM in Williamsburg is the flagship station of the Tribe Radio Network and the broadcast will be available on TribeAthletics.com.